Public Health director to leave after ten years of distinguished service

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director and Health Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County, today announced that he has accepted a senior executive position with The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation working to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of the state’s residents.

Dorothy Teeter, current Chief of Health Operations for Public Health – Seattle & King County, will assume the position of Interim Director and Health Officer in mid-June. Teeter has over twenty years experience working in the health care field in the Puget Sound region.

“In Dorothy Teeter, we are very fortunate to have such a talented and experienced leader already within the department,” said Sims. “I am supremely confident in her ability to carry on the excellence of the department’s work in this time of change.”

Prior to arriving at Public Health in 2002, Dorothy served as a senior executive for Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, where she was accountable for the design and delivery of population based, evidence based health care services for 600,000 enrollees.

Appointed to his position with Public Health in 1995, Plough has led one of the largest metropolitan health departments in the country through a time of dynamic change for the practice of public health and met it with strong, innovative leadership.

“It has been a tremendous gift to work with such a trusted and knowledgeable figure, and someone so committed to the public’s health and safety,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. “Dr. Plough’s vision of a community where we all achieve the highest standard of health is one that I have shared and admired, and one that I am committed to continuing.”

“He will leave with us a lasting legacy of a safer and healthier community, and with a department extremely well positioned to meet the significant public health challenges of the 21st century,” added Sims. “He is a public servant of the highest caliber, and he will be missed.”

“Dr. Plough is an extraordinary leader in the field of public health. His tireless efforts on behalf of King County has given us a nationwide reputation for innovation and excellence in public health. I have valued our partnership,”said Carolyn Edmonds, King County Board of Health Chair and King County Councilmember.

“It has been an unparalleled honor to serve with such talented, dedicated and innovative public health colleagues in benefit of our community’s health,” said Plough. “I leave with the comfort in knowing that the devotion to our mission of service remains stronger than ever, and that leadership of the department is in excellent hands.”

As Director and Health Officer, Plough has led the department in:

engaging in a department-wide commitment to improving health among communities most affected by illness;

advancing the department’s ability to receive cutting-edge public health grants, including those such as STEPS to Health and REACH, that work to address health disparities in local communities;

increasing Public Health’s ability to respond to acts of bioterrorism as well as emerging and re-emerging diseases, such as SARS, West Nile virus and pandemic flu;

strengthening the department’s relationship with the University of Washington and working to achieve a designation as an academic health department;

strengthening the department’s relationship with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and advancing the national focus on the work of major metropolitan health departments such as Public Health – Seattle & King County; and

promoting and supporting a community-based public health practice model that actively engages community partners in promoting and sustaining community health.

Public Health – Seattle & King County is the 10th largest metropolitan health department in the country by population served, with over 2000 employees and a budget of approximately $250 million. Public Health – Seattle & King County provides health and disease prevention services that achieve and sustain safer and healthier communities. Answering the needs of an increasingly diverse population, Public Health touches many aspects of community life in providing health care, outreach and referral services to vulnerable populations, pre-hospital emergency medical care, environmental health services, targeted health prevention activities, and jail health services.

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